A Delicate Valiance
by erebush6h
Summary: "Tell me girls," the prince said, addressing Anna and Elsa. "do you like legends?" Merida, now a legend in her own right, captures the heart of a terrified young Elsa, but can Elsa save Merida when Regina's curse comes between them? Or will Elsa lose Merida forever after the horrors she faced living in StoryBrooke? Elsa/Merida. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A.N. This is a story I've had floating around my head for a while and thought I'd better get it on FF before the premiere of season 4! It's a love story (I guess?) between Elsa and Merida but based in the unique Once Upon A Time universe.

Constructive criticism is much appreciated. Enjoy!

**A Delicate Valiance**

_**Chapter 1**_

Merida sat in the corridor of her castle just outside her parent's chamber fidgeting with the hem of her night dress, a fearful sickness welling in the pit of her stomach. She'd been awake for what seemed like an eternity, and every bone in her body was aching with exhaustion as yet another blood curdling scream echoed its way through the castle of Clan DonBroch. Her three younger brothers had come scurrying out of their room a few hours before, a solemn look on their faces to match Merida's own, and now they too were sitting in the hall where all they could do was listen to their mother struggle though childbirth, hoping she would make it through.

The labour had started in the early hours of a cold autumn morning and had been going for a worryingly long time before the king decided to go to his wife's side, breaking with tradition. Every member of the castle was awake, unable to sleep while their beloved queen was in such dire straits. Most of them were in the great hall whilst some tried to keep themselves busy with menial chores. All in all, nobody but the very youngest members of the castle had been able to sleep since the queen went into labour, almost 48 hours ago.

Merida had never felt so helpless in her life. As the exhausted triplets struggled to keep their emotions in check all she could think about was how lost her family would be without its matriarch at the helm. Her father would be devastated, her brothers would have to grow up without their mother, and she… she would not only be losing her mother, but her best friend too.

Burned out by lack of sleep and lost in thought Merida and her brothers jumped in surprise as a midwife suddenly exited the chamber. "We need more towels and clean water!" came the voice of the senior midwife who was in charge of delivering Queen Elenor's new baby. Their father could be heard in the room giving his wife encouragement to stay strong.

"Right!" replied the junior midwife as she headed for the castle's kitchen. Just before she was about to round the corner however, she turned to the royal children, a worried look on her face, and said to them "Prey for your mother, children. As hard as you can." And when she left - she left an unbearable silence in her wake, until another scream escaped the queen causing the boys to huddle together for support, and causing Merida to close her eyes tight as the sting of impending tears threatened to undo her emotionally. To quell the despair Merida took to thinking about the good times she had spent with her mother.

In the past three years since the fabled 'bear-cake' incident Merida and her mother had grown as close as they had ever been, and before Queen Elenor became sick with the pregnancy they had been spending an enormous amount of time together. Merida had often been amused by the fact that it took her mother becoming a beast for them to come to a better understanding of one another. And it was during this recollection that Merida was suddenly struck with a thought; one that brought both a string of hope and a new bout of energy to the weary princess;

"The witch! That's it!" she said aloud to the boys (who didn't have a clue what she was referring to)

Without explanation the princess quickly got on her feet and started running towards the castle's exit, leaving her confused little brothers with no one to comfort them but each other in this time of worry.

She ran as fast as she could to her horse and spared no time in saddling him up, mounting him, and directing him out of the castle grounds as fast as he could gallop. They didn't stop until they had reached their intended destination; the mystical stone circle.

With the horse completely out of breath and refusing to move forward Merida dismounted and ran as fast as her exhausted legs would allow. Over the winding path she ran, ignoring the whisps that were materialising all around her, until she reached the secluded little cottage she was looking for.

Upon reaching the door she didn't hesitate before letting herself in, but what greeted her only filled her heart with dread where once hope had been; the little dark cottage was completely empty, save for a few wooden carvings strewn haphazardly across the floor.

"No!" Merida shouted, her anger almost palpable. "Stupid witch! Why are you always gone when I need you?!" The tears of desperation were falling fast as Merida sank to the floor, her body aching with grief as the last thread of hope was snatched away from her so cruelly.

And there she stayed in her state of despair, for now what hope did her mother have? "I'm sorry mum. I tried." So sad was the princess, that she didn't even realise she was no longer alone in the abandoned cottage.

"Something wrong, dearie?" Said a voice from the shadows "You seem so… sad." The voice continued, almost mocking in its tone.

Merida was startled by the voice's sudden interruption "Who's there? What do you want from me?"

"Oh, the question isn't what I want from you, dearie," the shadowy voice said "but rather, what do you want from me?" at that moment the voice's master chose to reveal himself to Merida, and it was at that moment that Merida knew what true terror felt like. Before her now stood a hideous man, with large menacing eyes, scaly gold skin, and an aura of pure darkness.

"Who… who are you?" Merida said again, this time in a slightly meeker voice as she got to her feet and tried to back away.

"The name's Rumpelstiltskin. And you would be…?"A moment of silence passed as the princess seemed to regain her composure, taking a step closer to the beast before her.

"I'm Princess Merida of the clan DonBroch!" She said, trying to sound a little stronger than before. She'd heard of Rumpelstiltskin -The Dark One- and knew that he may be able to help her.

"How old are you princess?" he asked, inspecting her in the darkened room with a puzzling look on his face.

"I'm, umm…Is that important?"

"Very."

Merida was caught off guard by this seemingly innocent, yet rather sinister question, but decided it was in her best interest to give the imp what he wanted. "I'm going to be 18 in two weeks."

"Well, Princess Merida." He said touching his fingers together with glee. As he approached her she tried her best not to cower away from him "Today is your lucky day."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, whatever your problem is I can fix it, so long as it's reasonable. I'm not as powerful as my reputation would lead you to believe, but I can fix most problems, for a small price, of course."

"I'll give you anything you want!" she took a couple of steps towards him until they were practically nose-to-nose, her fear replaced by a bold desperation. Rumpelstiltskin, satisfied with her reply, took a step back and eyed her with interest

"Feeling brave, are we? He said to her.

"I don't care if the price is my life." She said. Merida knew she couldn't waste any more time; she had been given the opportunity she needed to save her mother, the consequences could be worked out later.

The imp leaned closer to this most intriguing young woman "Interesting. You must have a very special someone you want to save. Am I correct?"

"Yes." She said, tearing up again

"Well…?" he asked. Expecting a boring tale about a prince she was desperate to save, he was rather shocked to hear her next words.

"My mother is dying in childbirth, I want you to save her. The baby too, if you can."

"Mother?" he was taken aback by the thought of a child willing to give her life to save her parent, knowing all too well the anguish he felt trying to accomplish the opposite. But the opportunity for a deal like this could not be turned down; he had plans for Merida.

"Saving a mother and baby from a troubled birth? Doable. Well then, let's make a deal." he said, as a piece of parchment materialised in his right hand. "Sign this and I will give you what you seek."

Merida, without even thinking to read what she was trading in exchange for the imp's help, signed the paper as soon as it was presented to her. And as the last letter of her name was done the contract vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"Very well" He said with a grin on his face as he pulled a small vial from his jacket and presenting it to Merida "This is a potion that will heal any ailment, even a mother and baby in a distressed childbirth. Give it to her!" he practically shouted the last part causing Merida to jump, before he followed it up with a sinister, impish chuckle.

Merida snatched the bottle from his grasp and raced towards the door, but not before returning her attention to The Dark One, who had returned to the shadows of the cottage, as he said his parting words;

"Oh, and Princess? If your mother and the baby survive I'll be coming to collect on the debt you'll owe."

…

Riding on the back of her huge horse Merida rushed back to the castle as quickly as she could. Once inside the castle she rushed up the staircase and burst into the bedroom without bothering to knock. It was a good thing too, as her mother was so exhausted from labour she looked almost beyond saving.

"Merida!" her father roared in anger "What the hell do you think you're…?!" but the mighty king was cut off by his wife.

"Merida. My beautiful girl, let me look at you." Too exhausted to push any longer and convinced of the fact she was dying Queen Elenor spoke to Merida in a calm, quiet voice, as she mustered up the most sincere smile she could manage.

The tears were forming in everyone's eyes, for they knew that there was no hope left for their queen and the baby. And so, the dying queen made her last effort to comfort her daughter, but before she could say another word Merida put the small glass vile in her hands, and looked at her with the most determined expression the queen had ever seen on her daughter's face.

"What's this?" asked the Queen.

"This is a potion that'll save your life." Merida said to her mother. "Please, don't ask any questions. Just drink it."

The queen was too tired to question this sudden turn of events, but had she had her wits about her she surely would have questioned the origin of this mysterious potion or, at the very least, its price. But as it stood the queen was too desperate for the pain and fear to end, and the thought of getting to live and spend the rest of her life with her family compelled her to drink the potion.

…

The castle was once again a place of happiness and harmony (if you discount the presence of three identical 9 year old boys!). The queen was well on her way to recovering from her near-death experience she'd had just hours before, and both she and the new baby prince were sound asleep in the royal chambers. The triplets too were sleeping peacefully in their room, safe in the knowledge that they would still have a mother when they woke up in the morning.

After everyone else in the castle had bid them a good night the king and his daughter were sitting at the table in the castle's hall. Both were thoroughly exhausted by the entire experience, but the king was insistent that neither go to bed until the truth was out about the origin of the mysterious potion.

"Merida, who gave you that potion?" the king asked with genuine concern. Though he was glad his wife and child were safe he still wanted to be sure that Merida had not sacrificed something just as precious to him in her quest to save her mother.

"I'm not going to lie, dad; there will be a price to pay." Merida was too tired to be concerned right now though, and all she wanted to do was forget about this night and sleep for an eternity.

"I'm afraid you're right about that one, dearie." Said a spine-chillingly familiar voice. The king stood with his sword outdrawn as The Dark One emerged from behind a taxidermy bear.

"What the hell is that thing?" roared the king, disgusted by the creature currently invading his castle

"Rumpelstiltskin's the name, your majesty." The imp, apparently unfazed by the king's outburst, bowed to the king before he turned to face Merida, who, despite her earlier state, was now very much awake.

"I've come to collect on that debt you owe me."

"What do you want?" Merida's voice was trembling, despite her attempts to keep a steady tone.

"Why, you, of course." The imp said as he gave another one of his sickening chuckles.

"You will not take my daughter!" the king said as he launched himself at the imp, only to crash to the ground when the imp vanished into thin air.

"I can see you two are exhausted, so I'll make it quick." Said The Dark One, now situated atop one of the hall's wooden beams "She either comes with me," he continued, pointing at Merida "Or your new bonny-wee-bairn will! As per our agreement, princess." he finished the sentence and appeared in front of the two royals.

Although the king tried to resist, the imp had put a freezing spell on him, rendering him unable to protest as Merida stepped from behind his unmoving form to make her own way towards The Dark One, and whatever fate he had in stall for her.

As soon as Merida was in front of the imp she turned to face her father. And as the imp put his hands on her shoulders her father was able to move again.

The last thing she heard before her father and the hall vanished into the blackness was her father desperately calling her name.

"I'm sorry dad."

…

Merida felt like she was falling through a hazy fog of darkness before her body harshly collided with the cold, damp ground of a courtyard belonging to a castle she had never seen before. One thing was for certain; she wasn't in the Highlands anymore.

"Here we are, dearie," said the imp "Welcome to your new kingdom… well, once you marry the prince, of course."

"What are you talking about?" asked Merida, a sense of sheer terror taking over her soul at the last part of the imp's revelation.

"Welcome to Thessalon, Princess."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Three weeks earlier –

The kingdom of Thessalon was one of the poorest in the Middle Quarter after 100 years of war ravaged the land and its people, leaving all but a desolate, depressed shell of a country in its wake. Thirty years of blockades had also whittled the King's treasury down to its last few pieces of treasure, and to top it all the majority of the kingdom, with its small and inbred population, was suffering from a rare blood disease which seemed to pass from mother to child.

The king of this land, King Owen, was at his wits end with his kingdom's predicament and pleaded with his old enemies to work with him instead of starving his people, and allowing them to interbreed themselves into extinction. He proposed that if his son, Prince Connah, were to marry one of their daughters it would unite the kingdoms, bringing an end to the suffering of his people.

However, the surrounding kingdoms wanted nothing to do with Thessalon, for it was a kingdom that was renowned for having massacred many innocent civilians in the neighbouring lands, and the royals of Thessalon were the instigators of the 100 year war. The blockade, although cruel, was a way to address all the suffering caused by Thessalon. And so King Owen, in his desperation, called for the one person he knew could help him, and the one person he knew he shouldn't call; The Dark One.

"What have you got to offer me?" asked the Dark One upon being summoned to King Owen's castle.

"I have nothing but the last remnants of treasure in my vault to offer you, Dark One."

Upon casting a scornful eye upon the three rather pitiful pieces of treasure offered to him in return for his help the Dark One turned to leave. Luckily for the king, tough, just before he was about to leave The Dark One spotted something hanging on the wall of the vault; a tiny mirror, half obscured by a hanging tapestry.

"I'll help you," offered The Dark One "If you give me that." He pointed at the mirror.

"What use could one as powerful as you have for such a dingy little mirror?" asked the king in surprise.

"That, your majesty, is my business."

Although confused by The Dark One's desire for the mirror, the king was very much relieved at this rather fortunate turn of events. And so, the king's request was that The Dark One bring his son a princess bride from one of the nearby kingdoms and that they have a healthy child together, thinking that the other kingdoms would be forced to reconcile with Thessalon if one of their daughters (and grandchild) became a citizen: then, and only then would The Dark One receive the mirror he so coveted.

The Dark One agreed and after the king had signed the contract (after he and his council read it and agreed to its terms) he set off on his mission to find a princess for the prince of Thessalon to marry and conceive a child with.

…

The Dark One escorted Merida into the castle which, during a night as dark as this, exuded an atmosphere of haunting bleakness and an almost demonic aura. They walked through the dark, empty corridors until they came to a downward spiralling staircase, hidden behind what looked to be the only hanging tapestry left in the castle. At the bottom of the stairs was a heavy door that when pushed open revealed a large vault which to Merida looked as though it may have once been filled with all manner of treasures, but was now instead filled with men; five who looked like royal guards, and two -one old, in his late 70s at least, and one young, in his late 30s- who looked like members of this kingdom's noble class.

"Your majesties." Said the imp to the two noblemen, confirming Merida's suspicions.

Upon presenting Merida to the King and Prince of Thessalon it was evident that they were not too thrilled with his choice of bride.

"She doesn't seem like a princess of any kingdom I know of!" Said the king.

Upon The Dark One revealing that Merida was from a land on a continent far to the north of Thessalon, the king looked exhausted, as if a great disaster had just occurred.

"I said from a nearby kingdom!" he said, sounding without hope. "Not some savage kingdom in the far north!"

"Well, your highness," the imp said in a nonchalant tone "when you can appear anywhere you like in the blink of an eye 'nearby' becomes a very… subjective notion." He finished his sentence with his trademark chuckle, and Merida became acutely aware of her vulnerability in this room full of powerful men without her trusty bow and a clear way out.

Looking as if he was about to retch the king stumbled into the wall of the cell, one of the guards barely caught him and was propping him up when Merida noticed that the king's son had not moved, instead the prince had taken to glaring at her with a menacing stare. Merida backed behind The Dark One as she tried to be as inconspicuous as possible (as much as her hair would allow, anyway).

…

The arguments continued for a while, until The Dark One had made it clear to the King that he was not going to get another girl for the Prince.

"Well," Said the prince, who was now by Merida's side, casting an objectifying look over the princess, "at least she's good looking, for a savage anyway." His voice betrayed his arrogance as he went to grab a lock of Meridas fire-red hair.

When Merida pulled away from the prince a flicker of rage was visible in his eyes, but was quickly replaced with a calm indifference. Merida knew she'd have to watch out for this one; there was something not quite right with his mind.

"And besides, new blood should stop our children from being born weak." The prince said as he took his place at his father's side.

"Exactly!" Said the imp "Always look on the bright side of life! Now, to the small matter of my prize." He took a step closer to the mirror, which was now situated inside a wall-mounted cage bolted to the wall of the vault.

"I believe the deal included the conception of a healthy baby." The king reminded the imp with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Ah yes, how silly of me." The Dark One backed away from the mirror with an angry expression on his face, yet an obliging mannerism in body language as he pulled a small stone from one of his pockets.

"This is a moonstone." He said, giving the stone to the prince "Put it in the marital bed the night of the first full moon after your wedding. Upon consummation of the marriage she will conceive a healthy baby. And then I will come for my mirror."

"No." said the king as defiantly as his internal terror could manage "You can come for your mirror when we can see with our eyes that she is with child."

The Dark One's face burned with rage but he was forced to concede, at least until a baby was conceived, as was the stipulation in the original deal. What he didn't tell the Prince and King was that the moonstone had a sibling; a sunstone which would be able to alert him the second Merida became pregnant, allowing him to take the mirror as soon as his end of the deal was complete, visible symptoms of pregnancy or not.

"Considering you've ruined my plan to peacefully unite my kingdom with the neighbouring kingdoms I think waiting until this girl is visibly with child is a small price."

"As you wish, your majesty!" Said The Dark One. He then turned his attention towards Merida.

"You can't leave me here, I don't want to marry that man." Merida said, as quietly as she could, to avoid the earshot of the aforementioned prince.

"Tough luck, dearie. You signed the contract; it's not my fault you didn't read it." Reaching inside his coat pocket The Dark One pulled out a long, thin, pink crystal wand. "This, "He said quietly, wishing to address Merida alone "is called rose quartz." He then broke the wand in half, giving both halves to Merida. "If you keep one half with you and give the other to him it will induce a temporary infatuation between you."

"What? Why are you giving me this?" Asked Merida

"It won't make you love each other, but it might make your time together more bearable for as long as the infatuation lasts." The Dark One then vanished before her, his last words causing a shiver down her spine as he left her in the vault to the mercy of the men inside.

The king suddenly cast a disdainful look at Merida.

"Lock her in her chamber! We'll start planning the wedding first thing in the morning." At the king's words two guards grabbed Merida under her arms and escorted her out of the vault.

…

Inside the vault the king paced around muttering to himself, deliberating his remaining options.

"What's the plan now father?" The prince said, eyeing his father with something akin to restrained anticipation.

"Well… we have no choice, do we?" the king said, half addressing his son, half addressing himself. "Without a peaceful way to unite with our neighbours our hand has been forced."

"War, father?" The prince said eagerly, for he had been hoping for this ever since the day she had turned up at the castle.

"Yes son." The king then turned to address his most senior guard "Send for her," he said "Send for Maleficent."

The guard nodded his respect to the king and prince before departing from the vault.

"I told you father, we should have accepted her offer." Said the prince

"We couldn't!" Shouted the king, this whole incident was seemingly causing his mental faculties to come undone. "It wasn't my fault she came to us after we had already made a deal with The Dark One!"

"I liked her deal more than the one you made with him." The prince said, almost spiting as he spoke of The Dark One.

"I'd have preferred a more peaceful reunion between our people and our neighbours."

"Her way will make our neighbours our subjects. Father, I assure you, you are making the right decision."

"We'll see how right this decision is when The Dark One finds out we've promised his mirror to a dark fairy."

…

The next few days were hell on earth for Merida. The chamber maids were giddy with joy at planning a wedding (apparently one of the few joyous events to happen to the kingdom since the birth of the prince). So deluded were they in their euphoria caused by a royal wedding that they didn't seem to care that Merida was being forced into it, very much against her will.

"Oh, don't be so silly," one of the women had dismissively said to her "I'm sure you'll come to love each other."

"Don't complain," Said one of the younger maids "you should be grateful! I would give anything to be marrying his royal highness."

'At least I haven't seen his royal narcissist since the night that dreaded demon brought me here!' She thought to herself as the maid put a gaudy, ancient looking tiara on her head.

"Hmm… we'll have to do something about this hair" said the older maid.

And it was at that moment when reality hit Merida; she was stuck in a foreign land, being forced to marry a man who she knew she couldn't stand, and she was never going to see her family again.

Unless, that is, she escaped.

…

After the rather tense wedding ceremony (in which Merida had to be reminded of her deal with The Dark One after taking more than a minute to say 'I do') the newlyweds sat side by side in the middle of a very large main table in the banquet hall. Merida sat with the prince to her left and the head guard to her right, the king sat the other side of the prince, and a very beautiful woman in an elaborate dress, who Merida assumed to be the Queen, sat to the king's left. Needless to say that due to the kingdom's poverty the celebration was very small and extremely uneventful overall, despite the king's seemingly good mood throughout the day. However, during the king's wedding speech, it soon became clear that his good mood was not due to his son's marriage to a non-consenting bride, but to something even more sinister still.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He addressed the very few people sitting at the other two sparely filled tables in the room. "I would like for you to join me in a toast on this most joyous of occasions." He raised his glass into the air "To the newlyweds!" he toasted, as the other guests did the same.

"Now," He continued "on to more important matters…"

What followed filled Merida's heart with dread.

Apparently, a new alliance had been formed between the king and the powerful dark fairy, Maleficent. They were to head into battle the next morning, and with Maleficent's help, burn the neighbouring kingdom's to the ground.

Cheers erupted from the small number of guests in the hall, along with calls to murder the royal families of their neighbouring kingdoms. It was then, as the king offered his hand to the woman sitting next to him, that Merida finally figured out who she was, and she was no queen. She had been dining with one of the most feared creatures in all the lands and hadn't even realised it until Maleficent stood to address the wedding guests.

"With my help we will destroy your enemies once and for all!"

As the hall once again filled with the sound of cheers and spirited conversation Merida knew that she now had an even more pressing need to flee this kingdom. One thing she had on her side was the fact she was a warrior by blood. And tonight, her husband was going to see first-hand just how much of a savage she really was.

…

Two guards were sent to the prince's chamber the morning after the wedding, as he had failed to show up to saddle his war-horse as was planned.

"Lucky boy." Said one of the guards "Bet he was kept up all night by that fiery savage. Ha!"

The guards laughed the rest of the way to the prince's chamber, but what greeted them inside was no laughing matter: the prince had a bleeding wound on his head as he writhed to try and undo his rope bonds, but that was not all; somehow, she had managed to knock him out, dislocating one of his shoulders in the process, and hoist him up so he was dangling from the chamber's wooden chandelier by his undergarments as well as being tied to it by rope bonds. All of this must have gone unheard thanks to the rather filthy looking codpiece which was stuffed into his mouth.

In the fireplace lay the charred remains of two shards of crystal.

…

The prince was shamed, the marriage was annulled, and the guards had their tongues cut out to prevent them from telling anyone else. Not that Merida would get to know any of this information, for she had been too busy riding her way through a neighbouring kingdom, warning everyone she could find about the impending invasion.

That same night word had spread to the king of this land, and although the king was reluctant to believe this strange girl from a foreign land at first, once the king heard from some of his subjects about the strange whirling lights seen coming and going from the castle in Thessalon, it didn't take too much effort to deduce that these strange lights must have indeed been Maleficent.

Once the king had spread the word to the other kingdoms he turned his attention to Merida and as a 'thank you' for her warning the king gave her an entourage to escort her through the different kingdoms until she reached her homeland. And thus began her journey back home, a journey which would take several months to complete.

…

It had been three months since Merida's marriage to the Prince of Thessalon, and yet the sunstone hadn't changed its colour. If Merida had conceived it should have started to glow, and since it hadn't The Dark One decided he would pay the happy couple a visit, and claim his mirror while he was at it.

What greeted The Dark One on his arrival to the castle was completely different to what had greeted him the last two times he had been there. The castle was reduced to rubble and the only signs of life were some simple stone buildings made from the stones which previously made up the castle walls.

"No!" He shouted as he tried to locate the area of the castle which would have previously been the spiral staircase leading to the treasure vault. As he searched through the rubble some movement caught his eye.

"Come here, your highness!" he shouted.

"Please don't hurt me." Begged the prince as he emerged from one of the stone huts, dressed in rags and covered in a layer of dirt. "My father is dead and your mirror is gone. There's nothing I can do so please leave me and what's left of my castle alone."

"What happened to my mirror?" The Dark One asked in an impatient, sinister tone.

The prince then proceeded to explain that after The Dark One's first visit his father had been contacted by a dark fairy who also wanted the mirror, and offered him her services as a fierce warrior in exchange for it. His father had turned down her offer because he wanted to peacefully unite with his neighbours, not go to war with them. However, once The Dark One had made it clear that he wasn't going to bring a bride from one of the neighbouring countries he contacted the fairy and accepted her original deal.

Unfortunately, Merida had warned the neighbouring kingdoms of Thessalon's invasion plan and were prepared for them. Thessalon was crushed in battle, even with the fairy's help, who vanished after the first battle was over; stating one battle was all she promised in her deal. The king was dead and the kingdom was defeated, to be divided between its neighbours. The mirror was with the fairy now.

"And where is the treasonous girl?" The Dark One asked.

The prince told him that she had escaped the night of their wedding and that rumour has it she had been given guards to help her get home safely.

The Dark One was enraged. Princess Merida of the Clan DonBroch and the royals of Thessalon had ruined his best chance at getting his son back without the use of the convoluted 'curse'. They would all pay for costing him the mirror, for no one makes a fool of The Dark One and gets away with it.

As the prince of Thessalon screamed in agony in his last few moments not a single one of his subjects came to his aid until The Dark One had gone, leaving the prince's mangled body in his wake.

…

The Highlands was practically vibrating with jovial celebration as the four clans came together to celebrate the return of the DonBrach Clan's Hero Princess, who had returned home safely two weeks ago after she'd been gone for nearly three months.

News had spread of Merida's brave actions and willingness to sacrifice her freedom for the life of her mother, and she was heralded as a great hero of all the clans. The day of her return was now to be an annual festival, and the people of the Highlands were abuzz with joy at the return of their princess as they began the celebrations on the first ever Festival of the Brave.

However, it was not to remain so jovial.

As the four clans feasted in the castle's great hall a sudden chill took over everyone in the room, causing Merida to wrap her cloak tighter to her. However, this was not a chill of cold, for Highland people did not feel true cold. No, this was a chill brought by the presence of an evil being; The Dark One had appeared in the hall.

"Hello dearies!" He greeted sinisterly "don't bother getting up on my account." He said, waving an arm in the air casually, his magic causing everyone in the room to freeze on the spot.

"If you've come to take me back you're wasting your time!" Merida said. She was the only one in the room who was not frozen, but everyone else still had the ability to see and hear what was happening.

"I'm not here to take you back dearie," he said "you cost me that mirror, and I'm here to teach you a lesson."

As he approached Merida she reached for her bow and arrows, which were hanging on the back of her seat. She did not shy away from him: if these were to be her last few seconds on earth she wanted to spend them making her clan proud of their brave warrior princess.

As she drew an arrow she looked the imp dead in the eye as she spoke to him in a strong, defiant tone "Do your worst you vile…"

She was silenced by The Dark One's chosen curse.

Tears ran down the King and Queen's cheeks as they were forced to stare at what he had done to their daughter. Then The Dark One turned to face the other people in the hall.

"Hear me, people of the Highlands! Only true loves kiss will break the curse and free the girl. Until then your brave princess will remain trapped in this state, a monument to her stubbornness, and a reminder to everyone of the power of The Dark One." With a parting laugh he vanished into thin air, allowing everyone in the hall to move again, and allowing the Queen to release the wail she had been forced to hold in since her daughter was transformed into stone before her eyes.

…

Over the following two centuries many a myth was built around Merida's statue, starting with her own people.

Clan DonBroch and the other clans did their best to protect the precious statue and continued to celebrate the Festival of the Brave in her honour. It soon became a tradition for young men to line up every year at the festival and kiss the young stone woman in a ritual which was meant to awaken the princess if one of the men happened to be her one true love.

However, war and the disappearance of the Highland clans had meant that many of her people's treasures were looted and dispersed far and wide by various states, with Merida's statue being one of those treasures.

And so, over the years she was gifted to various noble houses by other noble houses, with each country adding their own myths to the beautiful warrior princess, who was forever doomed to be a statue.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Legend has it that she's the same exotic princess who warned of Old Thessalon's plans to invade their neighbours, but that's just a myth" The prince of New Thessalon looked on with satisfaction as the two young princesses of Arendelle stared in awe at the statue of the warrior girl; he had successfully done what his father had sent him to Arendelle's Royal Ball to do – gain the favour of the beloved daughters of one of their most important potential trading partners. Though, he had to admit, impressing the two eight and five year old girls was a more difficult task than he had originally anticipated; whatever the prince tried the girls had seen or had before.

He had had the best archers in all of New Thessalon do a demonstration of their skills, with the intention of impressing the young royals, but Arendelle had expert archers of its own. Although the girls were impressed, it was nothing they had not seen before. He had gifted the girls a mare each, and although the girls were grateful for their new steeds, the prince's bubble soon burst upon overhearing the Queen ask her husband about where he was planning to put "all these new horses". Unbeknownst to the prince, he was not the first guest to gift the girls a horse each.

He tried gifting dresses and jewels from his home land, and although the girls were always grateful of their gifts, nothing he had given them stood out from the gifts of the other nations. As his time addressing the Royal hosts was ending, and as his desperation increased, he half contemplated sending one of his men back to their ship to fetch a very friendly – yet quite scabby – cat that was taken aboard for pest control.

"Guard! Send for…" but the thought of the queen's disapproval of the flea-ridden moggy soon stopped him mid-sentence. Fortunately, it was then that he remembered a bit of cargo left on the ship from his last trip abroad: a gift from an old friend of his fathers. "… Statue!"

"Right away, your highness." off strode the guard.

"Tell me girls," the prince said, addressing Anna and Elsa. "do you like legends?"

…

The princesses were thrilled with their gift from the prince of New Thessalon. And throughout the remainder of the royal ball they spent all of their time in the garden (the statue's new home) with the stone warrior woman (much to the glee of the Prince, and annoyance of the other guests).

"What do you think her name is Elsa?" said Anna, slowly circling the statue.

"I don't know, but I bet it's a beautiful name." Elsa was transfixed on the eyes of this young stone woman, and she could see that the woman had been brave in her life before being transformed into a statue by an evil monster.

"Do you believe the prince's stories about her? About how she was turned to stone as a punishment?" Anna asked her sister, as she touched a stony lock of hair.

"I don't know." Replied Elsa "But I do think she was real once. And brave, and strong, and smart too."

"Yeah, I bet she was all those things. She must be the princess who told everyone about Old Thessaloon!" Anna declared boldly as Elsa giggled at her sister's mistake.

"Oh!" Anna seemed struck with a sudden realisation and crept over to a very confused Elsa. She then gestured for Elsa to crouch down so she could whisper in her ear. "I bet she had magic like you too!"

Elsa looked up to the statue with a new found wonderment. "Yeah." Elsa whispered, more to herself than to Anna.

"Do you really think she can be made real again by two love kisses?" Said Anna, a confused expression crossing her features as Elsa started to giggle yet again.

"I…"

"Anna! Elsa! Come into the hall now please. The banquette is ready and we must take our seats at the table." The queen was by the door, waiting patiently for her daughters to come inside.

Although the mysterious statue was fascinating to the young girls the allure of food was too overpowering, even for the statue to compete with.

…

"It was a mistake!" cried Elsa, as she knelt on the grass beside the stone princess. "I didn't mean to hurt her!" she whispered into the dark. "You believe me, don't you princess?" Elsa was pleading, almost as if for forgiveness, but the statue merely looked into the distance with the same fearsome expression she always wore.

After the royals had returned from their encounter with the trolls the king and queen had spent the night with Anna in their chambers, keeping a watchful eye on their youngest daughter and praying she would recover from her collision with Elsa's magic.

Elsa, on the other hand, was left alone with her guilt and misery. Fretting over her sister's health, and with no one to comfort her, Elsa turned to the one person in her life she knew would not/could not judge her for her mistake – the stone figure of a warrior princess.

"I would never hurt my sister on purpose." Elsa said. With tears staining her cheeks, making them shine in the faint light of the new moon, suddenly remembered her very scary encounter with the trolls earlier that evening.

"I'm not dangerous." She said aloud, trying to convince herself, before turning her gaze to the statue and in the tiniest whisper confronting her worst fear in the form of a question to her silent confidant;

"Am I?"

…

All the horrors she'd been made to face haunted her dreams ever since that night. She'd hurt Anna with her magic but this time she didn't recover, or she'd hurt her mother instead. Each dream ended with her father and people branding her a witch and chasing her out of Arendelle with fire. When her father finally caught up with her he would call her a monster before tossing a flaming torch at her, which was where the dream would end as she would wake up breathless and drenched in a cold sweat. And at this point in the night she would always get herself dressed and sneak out of her room.

The emptiness of the castle (which before the incident had been bustling with staff) made it easy for her to wander through the halls and slip out into the garden unseen, where she would sit for an hour or two next to her silent companion, airing all her fears and wishes and hopes, something she couldn't do with any 'real' people in her life.

After her hours with the statue she would finally feel comforted enough to return to her bed, where she would go on to dream of being saved by a mysterious cloaked figure before her magic had a chance to hit her loved ones.

And so the years rolled on with this continuous routine of nightmares, solace, and rescue, until Elsa had grown to become a beautiful young woman; a beautiful, and very frightened, young woman.

…

Bidding farewell to her mother and father Elsa gulped down the nauseous feeling rising to her throat in a bid to control the urge she had to be sick. The 18 year old could remember only one other time in her life where she had been as terrified as she felt now, and that time had cost her and her sister their once close bond.

"Do you have to go?" Asked Elsa, hugging her father.

"You'll be fine." He answered her, as the queen kissed her daughter's temple tenderly.

Heading for Elsa's bedroom door they turned to give her one last look of encouragement before they exited her room closing the door behind them, leaving Elsa alone with her anxiety.

The kingdom's most senior official had been left in charge of Arendelle, pending the king and queen's return. In the meantime, as soon as her parent's ship sailed out of the territory's waters, Elsa would become her kingdom's most powerful royal. The sheer thought of this caused a weight on Elsa's psyche that she could almost physically feel baring down on her chest.

In the two days following the king and queen's departure Elsa didn't leave the confines of her room. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she ignored Anna's desperate attempts for her attention, and she stayed in practically the same position throughout; sitting and sometimes lying on the floor underneath her windowsill, with her knees drawn to her chest, desperately trying to stave off an anxiety attack which threatened to overcome her at any moment.

Elsa was left in a very dark place, but after realising that her confinement was only making things worse she finally decided to leave her room. So, in the dead of night, knowing that Anna definitely would not catch her (for the sound of her snoring was unmistakable, even three doors down), Elsa wandered the halls until she reached the garden, where she set upon her favourite spot; the rose garden where her much adored stone warrior now dwelled.

She had come to value this statue for more than its mere aesthetics; for her it had become a safe place, a sort of substitute for human company. Over the years Elsa had poured her heart and soul to this stony warrior, and confessed secrets and opinions she would otherwise never be able to express, all safe in the knowledge that her secrets would never be divulged; that a valuable trust would never be broken, an important attribute for any friend of someone so devoid of faith in others.

Trusting had become extremely difficult for Elsa. She knew that her parents would protect her and keep her safe from herself, but the fact that she could not tell her parents about her anxieties without them dismissing her ('Don't be silly Elsa. You know what to do: conceal, don't feel.') caused an unacknowledged rift between them. She had lost all trust in herself, which in turn made it very difficult for her to get to know other people, the thought of accidentally hurting them causing her to keep her distance, both physically and emotionally.

She regularly had to acquiesce to her parent's wishes and meet with visiting nobility, which made her feel anxious as she tried to 'act normal', when she would rather not be meeting anyone at all. Needless to say it helped her greatly to have a non-judgemental, non-pressurising person in her life, even if she was a statue.

"Thank you, friend." She said to her ever silent companion.

Leaning closer she put her hands the cold cheeks of the stone warrior's face, looking the statue in the eyes for a few seconds, a look of contemplation on her features. Having seemingly made up her mind Elsa leaned closer to the statue until their lips were but mere millimetres away from each other.

Elsa was about to do something she had contemplated doing for a long while, but never had the courage to do before now; she was going to kiss the statue. The only reason she had not done so before was the thought of being overwhelmingly disappointed if the stone woman did not awaken, but for some reason, be it the full moon or the fact that the absence of her parents caused a sort of melancholic sense of freedom, she felt that she should at least try to awaken the Young woman trapped in stone.

"Don't disappoint me now." She said with a nervous smile, as she shut her eyes and moved to close the distance between them.

"Elsa!" Anna's voice came to her from within the castle, and by the way she desperately shouted her name Elsa knew that her sister was gravely distressed about something.

Pulling away from the statue Elsa rushed to make her way back inside the castle.

"Elsa!" Anna called out in a strangled sort of cry upon seeing her sister enter the ball room.

"Anna! What's wrong? "

Anna sank to her knees as Elsa approached her. Kneeling beside her sister, and cradling her face in her hands, Elsa desperately searched Anna's tear stained face for any clues about the cause of her distress. Was she hurt? Was she sick? Why couldn't she stop crying?!

It was then that Elsa realised that three senior officials were also in the ball room with them.

She knew. She knew from her sister's distress, and she knew from the way the officials looked towards the ground, barely able to look her in the eyes for more than a second. Her parents had not made it.

Her parents were dead.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. I apologise if this chapter just seems like it skipped a ton of in-movie content. I want to give you a look at Elsa's struggles without going over the parts of her life that were actually in the movie, and this was the best way I could come up with to do it.

Oh, and I'm not to include Olaf and Marshmallow in the story, at least not in the form he takes in the movie ;)

Sorry to any Olaf fans out there, but I think I'd rather leave out the whole 'Elsa creating life' thing…

**Chapter 4**

Elsa lay on her bed, so exhausted from the weight of her sorrow that she could barely move. Since hearing of her parents' death three days prior she had hardly moved, eaten, or spoken to anyone at all. Her parents' funeral had taken place that day, and although she felt guilty for not having gone she knew there was no way she could have faced the crowds of people giving their condolences, she would never have been able to control her powers. However, she could not stay in this state forever, for she was now duty bound to ascend to the throne.

In the weeks following the funeral Elsa was forced to spend her time in meetings with the councilmen of Arendelle, where decisions about her future and the future of Arendelle were made. It was decided that Elsa would spend the next three years being intensely groomed for her role as queen and would be crowned on her 21st birthday, where she would then be able to take over the running of her kingdom.

And so began Elsa's long, anxiety fraught journey to become the leader her country needed her to be, all the while trying desperately to conceal her ever growing powers from everyone around her.

All the skills and laws she had to learn, all the dignitaries she had to meet with, all the trade agreements she had to observe, and all the other responsibilities she had to fulfil as the future queen of Arendelle left Elsa both physically and mentally fatigued every night; the night she heard of her parents' death was to be the last night she would visit her stone warrior for what would feel like a lifetime to Elsa.

…

Although three years went into preparing Elsa for her coronation no amount of training could have prepared anyone for what actually took place that day.

However, despite the havoc caused by Elsa on that night and in the days preceding, her people were ultimately both forgiving and understanding of their beloved queen. They rejoiced in the fact that her powers, as well as her compassionate nature, would be able to keep their nation safe from a recent and rather disturbing trend taking place in some neighbouring kingdoms around the Enchanted Forest: sinister rulers seeped in corruption and dark magic.

And so, with the return of their queen and princess, the people of Arendelle worked together in order to give the young queen a second-attempt coronation celebration, all taking place within the castle, its doors open to all citizens.

Having been bombarded with requests from Anna to ice skate, and what must have been every 4-10 year old child in her kingdom as well, Elsa was rather pleased when the clock tower could be heard chiming midnight, causing all the children to be taken home to bed (most of whom were asleep under the banquet table by then anyway), meaning that the number of people remaining in the castle dropped considerably.

As Anna was preoccupied skating with Kristoff in the ball room Elsa took the chance to escape into the garden for some much needed air, where she took her usual place besides a certain statue. Elsa felt her heart skip a beat as she looked upon the statue with fondness before sighing and smiling to herself. A sense of gratitude and nostalgia compelled Elsa to talk to the stone woman, just as she did as a child. She told her all about being free, connecting with her sister and her people, as well as offering an explanation as to her absence in the past three years.

She'd forgotten just how influential this stone warrior had been throughout her life, and laughed to herself when she recalled all the adventures she had envisioned herself and the warrior going on, had they both not been trapped in the states they were in. She remembered that she would often turn her mind to these adventures as a way to cope with the anxiety, loneliness, and boredom she had experienced during the three years she spent being groomed for her role as queen.

A wild red-headed Scottish princess, who wielded a archer's bow and rode a huge black and white horse, was how a young Elsa had envisioned the girl to be like in real-life - the stories Elsa had invented all coming back to her as she quietly sat beside the statue. A tale of defiance, witches, bears, legends, and bravery was remembered with fondness as she tried to recall it. And as she did it came back to her so vividly it was almost like she had lived it herself; as if the memory was a real one instead of a story dreamt up by the imagination of a child.

Re-connecting with her in this way caused all the feelings Elsa had for the stone woman to come flooding back to her. Elsa knew that it wasn't possible to be in love with an inanimate object; however, she could not escape the fact that she had, in some way, fallen in love with the idea of the girl encased in a stony prison for over 200 years. She was definitely in love with the fierce red-head who defied her mother and won her freedom using her bow-and-arrow (another story she had made up about the warrior).

Before Elsa knew it two hours had passed her by and she could feel herself losing the battle to stay awake. Looking back into the ballroom she could see that almost everyone had gone home, in fact the only ones still in there were Anna and Kristoff, who themselves looked like they were battling the urge to sleep, and the guards who's duty it was to be there until the last person left.

Feeling some raindrops falling on her face Elsa decided to call it a night. She rose from her seated position and turned to say her thanks and bid goodnight to the statue, as she always used to do. "I owe you many things, my warrior." She said to her through a stifled yawn, betraying her exhaustion.

"Without you to talk to I would have fallen under the weight of my own misery. You gave me the strength and the courage to carry on, and I hope somehow you're able to sense just how much you mean to me." Elsa leaned close to the statue, whispering her thanks once again before kissing the stone warrior's temple then turning to walk away as the raindrops began to fall more heavily.

However, a sharp intake of breath, followed by a thumping sound of something hitting the ground behind her, caught her off guard. She spun around with her arms up ready to freeze any ill intending intruders, before she saw something that she had always hoped to see, but never thought she ever would; her stone warrior was stone no more.

Instead, what lay on the ground before her was the form of a young woman obscured by a thick green cloak, with the fiercest red hair she had ever seen poking out from the hood. The hood of her cloak, her wild red hair, along with the darkness of night obscured her face from view, but to Elsa there was no doubt about who this girl was - as crazy as it seemed. Then again, there had been an awful lot of crazy these past few days!

Dropping to her knees beside the unconscious woman Elsa knew she needed to get her inside as quickly as possible; god knows what state she would be in after being trapped in stone all this time.

"Help! Guards, come quickly!"

When the guards came running to the aid of their queen Anna and Kristoff were right at their heels.

With a sudden realisation of what she was seeing Anna gave an audible gasp as she pushed passes the guards and dropped to her knees beside her sister, staring in shock at the woman lying on the ground.

"Is she… she can't be… can she?" Anna asked.

"She is." Replied Elsa.

…

"What should we do?" Anna asked her sister. Elsa couldn't answer her though, as she was as clueless as her sister.

Merida now lay on a large, ornate bed, safe and warm under the covers, yet still managing to seem quite ill at ease, even as she slept. The two royals were both standing over and looking anxiously at their restless guest as the young woman (who was a lot younger than Elsa had imagined – no older than 20 at the most) fretted in her sleep, breathing heavily and making noises that signalled her distress.

It was then that Kristoff decided to join them, signalling his presence by knocking softly at the door before pushing it open to let himself in. When inside he nodded his respect to Elsa then headed straight for Anna's side, giving her a soft smile before he too turned his attention to the young woman on the bed.

"How is she?" He asked them.

"Not good." Said Anna, as Elsa moved to sit on beside the redhead.

"Wait! I know…" Anna exclaimed, having seemingly just remembered something important. "She was turned into stone using magic, right?"

Both Elsa and Kristoff exchanged exasperated looks before replying in unison – "Yes."

"Well, maybe the Trolls can help!"

"Yes!" Kristoff agreed "They should know at least something that may help this poor girl."

"Trolls?" Elsa spoke with some trepidation. Did her sister remember _that_ night after all?

"Yeah, Kristoff took me to them after you hit me with… never mind." Anna finished, thinking it best to not mention that particular incident again.

"Umm… yeah." Kristoff's attempts to ease the now tense atmosphere in the room fell flat, but another distressed moan from the redhead soon brought everyone back to the present.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Said Elsa "Let's saddle up the horses immediately."

As Elsa went to walk past Kristoff he cleared his throat in order to get her attention as politely as he knew how.

"Excuse me, your highness; I may have a better way to get to them."

…

Galloping through the wilderness as fast as he could Sven pulled the sled along a well-worn track. Kristoff and Anna sat in the driver and passenger seats respectively, while Elsa and the ever restless young redhead rode in the cargo area, until they reached their destination.

An anticipatory silence fell upon the group as they entered the lair of the Trolls. To someone who had never been there before it would have looked empty, as if no trolls lived there at all, but the three conscious members of the human group knew exactly where the trolls were.

"Don't be afraid, Elsa." Anna said to her sister. "They're really friendly… a little too friendly, actually."

"I'm not afraid, Anna." Elsa replied "I've been here before."

"You have?" Asked a very confused Anna (It was then that Kristoff realised that he had seen these two sisters before the night of the snowstorm, a very long time ago).

Before Elsa could answer her sister all the spherical rocks in the area started to roll towards them, causing Anna and Elsa to back up a few inches, before they all jumped up to reveal their actual forms.

"Kristoff!" They shouted in unison.

"You're back?" said a rather tiny troll, who was obviously just an infant.

"And you brought two girls with you this time."

"That's illegal even in troll law Kristoff, I am disappoint…"

"No, it's not like that." Anna chimed in.

"Yeah, only one of them is…" Kristoff attempted to add, before cutting himself off.

"Ehem. Excuse me." Silence fell in the lair, and all eyes focused on Elsa as she spoke in her usual calm, regal tone. "We need to speak to the troll who knows about magic."

As if waiting for his cue the biggest boulder rolled from behind a large log. He then stood up in front of Elsa, revealing himself to be the same troll who had saved Anna all those years ago: the King Troll.

"Your Majesty." He said, bowing to Elsa. Elsa curtseyed back before motioning over to Kristoff's sledge.

"There's a young woman in that sledge who, until this night, had been a statue for over 200 years." A collective gasp, followed by the sound of hushed whispers, could be heard coming from the trolls as Elsa finished her sentence.

"Only the darkest, most powerful magic could have done that to her and lasted so long." Said an older female troll, prompting a flurry of nervous agreement from the other trolls.

"Please, I know this kind of thing gives you the heebie-jeebies, but this girl has been through a lot and needs your help." Kristoff said.

"If you could just take a look and tell us what she needs we'd be so grateful." Said Anna.

"Very well." Said the king troll, striding towards the sledge "Let me look at her."

Indeed, according to the king troll it seemed that the young woman was suffering some sort of backlash caused by being affected by an extremely powerful curse for such a long time. However, there was good news too: the troll determined that she should begin to awaken in a day or two at most, and that once her mind had re-established itself she should be fine, at least physically speaking.

The troll then went on to explain that the woman would need time to heal from what would most likely be an even bigger trauma than the one she was experiencing now; the realisation that everything and everyone she knew in her old life will be either changed beyond all recognition, or gone completely.

"I know someone who might be willing to help her." Declared the king troll "An old friend of mine whose compassion and dedication to helping those in need may be just what she'll require in the coming weeks."

"Thank you." Elsa said. Although her words were meant for the king troll he noticed that she had not looked at him to address her thanks. Instead she was looking down at the restless woman with what could only be described as a look of adoration, as she stroked the woman's forehead gently and spoke to her in a soothing tone, attempting to comfort her. And, much to the troll's surprise, it worked.

Elsa looked on with satisfaction as the young woman stopped her fretting and settled into a more comfortable position amongst the blankets.

"Tell me, your Highness, what caused the curse to be broken?" He asked, even though he suspected she'd already given him the answer.

Elsa looked at the king in confusion before the realisation seemed to hit her, causing her to gasp and look back at the sleeping woman.

"I kissed her." Whispered Elsa, barely audible above the hum of the now excitedly chattering trolls.

Anna, who herself had just realised what the fuss was all about, had clapped her hands to her mouth as her eyes grew bigger with excitement; although half her face was covered by her hands she could still not manage to hide the smile which took over her features.

Kristoff looked around, the excited murmur seemingly confusing him.

"Umm… did something just happen?" He whispered to Anna.

"Yes!" She practically squealed. "Elsa's found her true love!"

"Oh? OH! Ok, I get it now."


End file.
